People magazine has named Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, as its “2016 Sexiest Man Alive.”

Johnson has just released his new movie – “Moana” – an animated Disney film, due to go to the cinemas on 23 November 2016. He will also co-star in the eighth film of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise next year as well as in a remake of “Jumanji.”

People magazine has been criticised for usually choosing a white man for the cover of the Sexiest Man Alive issue. This year the magazine chose its first actor of Samoan heritage. Denzel Washington was the first black actor to hold the title.

Johnson, who is 44 and the father of two girls – Simone 15 and Jasmine 11 months – became famous in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a performer with World Wrestling Entertainment. He turned to Hollywood and found success with films like “The Mummy Returns” (2001) and “The Scorpion King” (2002). He joined the “Fast and the Furious” franchise in 2011 for its fifth film.

According to Forbes magazine, in 2016 Johnson became the world’s highest-paid actor. Four of the Top 5 earners – Dwayne Johnson, Matt Damon, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp – have each been People’s Sexiest Man Alive. The magazine does not traditionally name a “Sexiest Woman Alive” with the exception of Kate Upton in 2014.

“Sexy isn’t something you try and be. Sexy happens naturally when you’re comfortable just being yourself,” Johnson wrote on his Instagram on Tuesday.

At 6-foot-5 (2 metres) and 245 pounds (111 kilograms), he is, physically, one of the largest menever chosen by the magazine. Muscle and Fitness magazine wrote that his daily diet at the height of his bodybuilding routine was more than 5,000 calories spread over seven meals, including a dozen eggs, a lot of cod, and a steak. In “Moana,” he voices the demigod Maui, a character that has been criticised for its negative stereotype of Polynesians as overweight.